For thousands of years, copper has been one of the most fascinating materials used to color glazes — from Morocco to China. There is something deeply captivating about its intense green hue, found not only on pottery but also in old tiled stoves and the ceramic details of Gothic cathedrals.

Although this color has enchanted people for centuries, few notice that deep green copper glazes have long disappeared from tableware in European homes. The reason is simple: traditional green glazes once contained lead, making them toxic and unsafe for everyday use.

Achieving a similar hue in lead-free, feldspathic glazes is a real challenge. The temperature range between melting the glaze and the evaporation of copper is very narrow. The result also depends heavily on the firing atmosphere and the chosen fluxes.

This rare, translucent green glaze is known as Oribe, and its roots lie in Japan.

The Oribe Style – A Japanese Ceramic Revolution

The Oribe style emerged in Japanese pottery during the late Momoyama and early Edo periods in the 16th century. It was born from two parallel revolutions — one technological, the other aesthetic.

The technological revolution came with the introduction of a new type of kiln from Korea — the noborigama. These massive, multi-chamber climbing kilns allowed for precise control of firing conditions and made large-scale production possible without sacrificing quality. Remarkably, the noborigama kiln remains one of the most efficient wood-fired kilns still used by potters around the world today.

The aesthetic revolution was shaped by the evolution of the Japanese tea ceremony – chanoyu, guided by masters such as Sen no Rikyū and Furuta Oribe. The latter is often credited as the originator of the Oribe style — though whether he directly created it or merely inspired it remains a matter of scholarly debate.

Oribe ware stood out for its vivid green glaze, bold brushwork, asymmetry, and strikingly modern expressiveness. Although the style’s popularity was short-lived, its spirit reemerged centuries later — in postwar Japan, when potters began to merge traditional craftsmanship with modern artistic freedom.

Oribe Today – Between Tradition and Experimentation

Contemporary Japanese potters, deeply rooted in their cultural heritage yet free from its former constraints, have rediscovered Oribe glaze in new and expressive ways. The green glaze now flows over textured surfaces and sculptural vessels, creating landscapes of color, depth, and movement that evoke water and nature itself.

Our Oribe

We couldn’t resist trying to fire our own Oribe glaze. Apart from copper minerals, we already had all the necessary materials on hand — feldspar, wood ash, and local clay. We introduced copper carbonate using malachite, collected near the old copper mines around Kielce in Poland.

However, achieving that perfect Oribe green proved far more difficult than with any other glaze we’ve worked with. Despite testing many recipes, the elusive emerald color only appeared when it wanted to — almost as if it had a will of its own.

The few vessels where Oribe truly comes to life, revealing that deep, watery green, are genuine treasures in our collection. The glaze demands a firing schedule tailored specifically to its chemistry — it cannot share the kiln with our beloved celadons or black temmoku glazes.

That’s why we fire it rarely. And perhaps for the same reason, despite its striking beauty, Oribe glaze remains one of the most mysterious and uncommon surfaces found in contemporary ceramics.

Oribe Glaze on Handmade Ceramics – Our Studio Collection